»Misere miser sum«. Die sprachliche Darstellung von Affekt und Emotionen junger Männer auf der Bühne der Palliata

Abstract

This article examines the linguistic representation of strong emotions within Roman comedy using the character of the adulescens. The detailed linguistic analysis of scenes of the three young men Calidorus (Pseudolus), Diniarchus (Truculentus), and Lysiteles (Trinummus) focuses on lexicon, syntax, morphology, prosody, and imagery. As a rule, the characters name their feelings in the beginning and explain them in detail by means of metaphors. In addition, they make use of polymetric verse and typical stylistic elements that serve to increase the pathos of the expression, such as anaphoric enumerations, amplification, rhetorical questions etc. The analysis suggests that a specific combination of these features is used to represent emotions such as miseria, ira or desperatio within the text. A final look at Terence’s Andria and Adelphoe supports the results.